Pernod Ricard sales rise 10 percent

Pernod Ricard concluded that its first-quarter trends were encouraging for the full year, with the European market improving. The company is aiming for growth in operating profit from recurring operations of close to 6 percent.

It reiterated that it will bring its debt load down to about 4 times EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) by its fiscal year ending June 2012.